Looking for Friday’s Strands hints, spangram and answers? You can find them here:
The last weekend of April is already here, and we’re nearing the halfway mark for 2025. My how time flies when you’re solving puzzles. Spring is in full bloom, or very nearly, and summer is fast-approaching. We have some words to uncover, so let’s solve this Strands!
Strands is the newest game in the New York Times’ stable of puzzle games. It’s a fun twist on classic word search games. Every day we’re given a new theme and then tasked with uncovering all the words on the grid that fit that theme, including a spangram that spans two sides of the board. One of these words is the spangram which crosses from one side of the grid to another and reveals even more about the day’s theme.
Spoilers ahead.
Today’s Strands Hints
Read on for today’s theme and some hints to help you uncover today’s words. Instead of giving you the first two letters of each word, today I’m giving out three hints instead of two.
Today’s Theme: Face time
Hint: Lipstick
Clue: Helps to have a mirror
Here are the first two letters of each of today’s words:
- CO
- BR
- FO
- PO
- PR
- MA
Remember, spoilers ahead!
What Are Today’s Strands Answers?
Today’s spangram is: MAKEUPEXAM
Here’s the full list of words:
- CONCEALER
- BRONZER
- FOUNDATION
- POWDER
- PRIMER
Here’s the completed Strands grid:
I was pretty sure this was going to be about makeup the moment I found MAKEUP on the grid, though I wasn’t able to string it into the spangram right away. I found POWDER first, and then PRIMER and only then was I able to add EXAM to MAKEUP. That’s clever. A “makeup exam” is a test or quiz you retake, but in this context it’s just us finding words about makeup, like FOUNDATION, BRONZER and CONCEALER. I actually found these easier than I thought I would, despite not being someone who uses makeup (though I did when I was in theater!)
How did you do on your Strands today? Let me know on Twitter and Facebook.
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